Washington Area Bestsellers

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Sunday, December 17, 2006

Paperback
Fiction
1

THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER(Penguin, $14)

By Kim Edwards.A doctor comes to regret telling his wife that one of their twins, a girl, died during delivery.

25
2

S IS FOR SILENCE(Berkley, $7.99). By Sue Grafton

P.I. Kinsey Millhone looks into the case of Violet Sullivan, an impetuous mother who vanished 34 years earlier.

2
3

FALSE IMPRESSION(St. Martin's, $9.99)

By Jeffrey Archer.The ownership of a priceless van Gogh self-portrait is put in question by the attacks of Sept. 11.

2
4

THE CELL(Pocket Star, $9.99). By Stephen King

A mind-altering pulse sent simultaneously to all mobile phones in America turns its recipients into zombies.

3
5

THE TENTH CIRCLE(Washington Square, $15)

By Jodi Picoult.Graphic art illustrates this "Purgatorio" tale of a family coping with a daughter's rape.

7
6

THE LAST TEMPLAR(Signet, $9.99)

By Raymond Khoury.Modern-day zealots from the Knights Templar hunt for a treasure not seen since 1291.

1
7

SAVING FISH FROM DROWNING(Ballantine, $14.95)

By Amy Tan.A Burmese vacation is scuttled when American travelers are seized by a mystical rebel tribe.

2
8

THE KITE RUNNER(Riverhead, $14)

By Khaled Hosseini.An Afghan immigrant returns to his Taliban-ruled country to atone for a childhood betrayal.

106
9

ON THE RUN(Bantam, $7.99). By Iris Johansen

A mother and daughter, both in CIA protective custody, are forced to flee when their location is discovered.

2
10

VALLEY OF SILENCE(Jove, $7.99). By Nora Roberts

The conclusion of the "Circle Trilogy" finds six warriors battling the minions of the vampire Lilith.

6
Nonfiction/General
1

THE IRAQ STUDY GROUP REPORT: THE WAY

FORWARD--A NEW APPROACH(Vintage, $10.95)

Co-chairs James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton, et al.

1
2

RUNNING WITH SCISSORS(Picador USA, $14)

(St. Martin's, $7.99). By Augusten Burroughs

A memoir chock-full of hilarious and unsettling moments.

38
3

FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS(Bantam, $14; $7.99)

By James Bradley with Ron Powers.The life of Bradley's father, John, who served in the Pacific in World War II.

10
4

THE GLASS CASTLE(Scribner, $14)

By Jeannette Walls.A daughter's memoir of her eccentric parents and the unorthodox upbringing she survived.

42
5

DREAMS FROM MY FATHER(Three Rivers, $14.95)

By Barack Obama.A memoir of a challenging, often lonely youth by the freshman senator from Illinois.

56
6

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS(Amistad, $14.95)

By Chris Gardner with Quincy Troupe.Gardner's erratic rise from impoverished youth to prosperous broker.

3
7

TEAM OF RIVALS: THE POLITICAL GENIUS

OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN(Simon & Schuster, $19.95)

By Doris Kearns Goodwin.Presidential finesse.

11
8

AMERICA (THE BOOK): A CITIZEN'S GUIDE TO

DEMOCRACY INACTION(Warner, $15.99)

By Jon Stewart and the Daily Show. "Teachers' edition."

5
9

1776(Simon & Schuster, $18). By David McCullough

Military campaigns and personal narratives tell the story of the first full year of the American Revolution.

23
10

THE PLACES IN BETWEEN(Harvest, $14)

By Rory Stewart.Walking across post-Taliban Afghanistan in the footsteps of the Mughal emperor Babul.

13
Hardcover
Fiction
1

NEXT(HarperCollins, $27.95). By Michael Crichton

A near-future tale that confronts the enormous strides in genetic research and its scientific and moral implications.

2
2

CROSS(Little Brown, $27.99). By James Patterson

Hunting for a serial killer/rapist, forensic psychologist Alex Cross inadvertently finds clues to his wife's murder.

4
3

HANNIBAL RISING(Delacorte, $27.95)

By Thomas Harris.This prequel to "Red Dragon" fleshes out the events that made Hannibal Lecter such a monster.

1
4

FOR ONE MORE DAY(Hyperion, $21.95)

By Mitch Albom.Charley Benetto is granted one final day with his mother, whose recent death left him devastated.

11
5

TREASURE OF KHAN(Putnam, $27.95)

By Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler.DirkPitt and the NUMA team aim to stop a Mongolian tycoon's ruthless scheme.

2
6

DEAR JOHN(Warner, $24.99). By Nicholas Sparks

The budding romance between an aimless soldier and a conscientious college student is altered by 9/11.

6
7

THE BOLEYN INHERITANCE(Touchstone, $25.95)

By Philippa Gregory. The treachery of Jane Boleyn, sister-in-law of Anne Boleyn, at the court of Henry VIII.

1
8

NATURE GIRL(Knopf, $25.95). By Carl Hiaasen

Offended by a real estate sales call, a woman takes the telemarketer on a wild Everglades adventure.

4
9

WILD FIRE(Warner, $26.99). By Nelson DeMille

Terrorists plot to force a U.S. nuclear strike in the Middle East by detonating nuclear bombs on U.S. soil.

5
10

BROTHER ODD(Bantam, $27). By Dean Koontz

Odd Thomas, who is able to see ghosts, has his monastic retreat disrupted by sinister shadows portending tragedy.

2
Nonfiction/General
1

THE AUDACITY OF HOPE: THOUGHTS ON RECLAIMING

THE AMERICAN DREAM(Crown, $25)

By Barack Obama.The Illinois senator's social contract.

8
2

PALESTINE PEACE NOT APARTHEID

(Simon & Schuster, $27). By Jimmy Carter.The former president, broker of the Camp David Accords, weighs in.

3
3

THE INNOCENT MAN: MURDER AND INJUSTICE

IN A SMALL TOWN(Doubleday, $28.95)

By John Grisham.A1982 case of rape and murder.

9
4

I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK: AND OTHER

THOUGHTS ON BEING A WOMAN

(Knopf, $19.95). By Nora Ephron.Aging angst.

19
5

MARLEY & ME: LIFE AND LOVE WITH THE

WORLD'S WORST DOG(Morrow, $21.95)

By John Grogan. For the love of an unruly Labrador.

49
6

CULTURE WARRIOR(Broadway, $26)

By Bill O'Reilly.Hot-button cultural issues pepper this take on the struggle between the left and the right.

11
7

STATE OF DENIAL: BUSH AT WAR, PART III

(Simon & Schuster, $30). By Bob Woodward

New details on the administration's war plans in Iraq.

11
8

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE THUNDERBOLT KID:

A MEMOIR(Broadway, $25). By Bill Bryson

A trip down memory lane by a child of the 1950s.

6
9

THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE

TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY(FSG, $30)

By Thomas L. Friedman.A revised and expanded edition.

25
10

THE GOD DELUSION(Houghton Mifflin, $27)

By Richard Dawkins.A critical rejection of religious faith, its perceived intolerance and the idea of intelligent design.

5

Rankings reflect sales for the week ended Dec. 10, 2006. The charts may not be reproduced without permission from Nielsen BookScan. Copyright © 2006 by Nielsen BookScan. (Right-hand column of italicized numbers reflects weeks on this list, which premiered in Book World on Jan. 11, 2004. Advice, reference and self-help books appear on a separate, monthly list.)



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